Israel has a unique place in the Anglo-American conscience for several reasons: 1. It was established by Britain out of the Palestinian mandate 2. Judaism is

Israel has a unique place in the Anglo-American conscience for several reasons: 1. It was established by Britain out of the Palestinian mandate 2. Judaism is central to the history and thought of Western civilization 3. There is a large Jewish diaspora in the West, especially the United States 4. Israel is the sole Western society in the Middle East 5. Israel was geopolitically important to the US in the Cold War as part of its strategic containment of the USSR, and today in counteracting Iran's regional influence 6. The US has provided more aid to Israel than any other country 7. There is a powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States 8. Given all these ties, Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza rightly attracts a lot of criticism in the West